Opera Cleveland keeps standards high in final performances of season

Eric MullCanio (Gregory Carroll, right) taunts his wife, Nedda (Robin Follman), in Opera Cleveland's production of Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci," which shares a double bill with Poulenc's "La voix humaine" this weekend at the State Theatre.

The events that unfold in the two works Opera Cleveland is presenting as its final production of 2010 could hardly be called happy.

In Francis Poulenc's one-act monologue, "La voix humaine," a woman tries to deal with the end of her relationship with the man on the other end of the line. Ruggero Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci" is a classic tale of jealousy and murder set within the theatrical world of travelling players.

Add to these narratives an avalanche of doubts about Opera Cleveland's future and you begin to wonder whether you need a stiff drink by evening's end.

But artistic director Dean Williamson and colleagues have put their best artistic feet forward before the company goes into performance hiatus to ponder its existence. The two operas on this week's bill at the State Theatre, if not entirely persuasive as companions, demonstrate the high standards that have prevailed on Williamson's watch.

Those standards have included spare stagings and vocal and instrumental artistry that honors the source. In "I Pagliacci," stage director Bernard Uzan moves the action to the 1950s, complete with Italian sports car, and adds two mimes during orchestral sequences as Comedy and Tragedy.

These sensitive tweaks complement Leoncavallo's ultra-juicy and tender score, which receives affectionate treatment by Williamson, the orchestra and a fine cast.

At Thursday's opening, Gregory Carroll revealed a firm, ringing tenor and keen dramatic instincts as Canio, the clown who can't mask rage over his wife's infidelity. He was a commanding presence from the outset, alternating rapidly between charm and menace.

In Canio's aria of despair, "Vesti la giubba," Carroll sent Leoncavallo's impassioned lines soaring into space. He gives every indication of being a singer on the verge of a major career.

The object of Canio's misery is his wife, Nedda, portrayed with earthy vibrancy by Robin Follman. There were moments when the soprano allowed her voice to get caught and turn shrill, but the intensity of her phrasing made the character an imposing, flesh-and-blood woman.

Michael Chioldi sang the conniving Tonio with bold urgency, especially the magnificent Prologue, with two mimes mirroring his words. (As Leoncavallo intended, Tonio – not Canio, as tradition has dictated – speaks the opera's final words, "La commedia e finita," in this production.)

Philippe Pierce put an endearing spin on Beppe's solo, and Eric Dubin made an ardent Silvio right up to his death by Canio's knife. Leoncavallo entrusts much of his best music to the townspeople, whose celebratory lines the Opera Cleveland Chorus performed with robust glee.

The simple unit set, with projection of the town, works well, though lighting cues Thursday weren't on the button. The scenery is even more economical in "La voix humaine," which is played before a curtain with only furniture and telephone to provide requisite atmosphere.

Poulenc's music does the rest, its anxious and languorous beauty reflecting the heroine's mercurial emotions. Follman sang the role with splendid attention to inflection, finding a spectrum of nuances to register outrage, ardor and desolation.

Yet compared to the rich meal of the Leoncavallo, the Poulenc came across as a bitter appetizer. If – fingers crossed – Opera Cleveland one day finds its way, the standard "Cav/Pag" double bill of Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "I Pagliacci" would be most welcome, with Williamson and many of these artists in bloody control.

Correction: An observant opera-goer points out that the sports car in "I Pagliacci" isn't Italian. It's a British MG.

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